Dead Space 3

Here you can find a list of all Artifact Texts found throughout the game Dead Space 3. Enjoy!

Artifacts

Beginnings

S.C.A.F. Artifact 1

FROM: DR. EARL SERRANO

TO: ENS PATRICK BECKFORD

SUBJECT: SPECIAL CARGO

I cannot stress how important it is that your cargo reaches its intended destination. Should you fail in your mission, it is not just our lives that are at stake, but those of your wives, your children --- everyone you have ever known.

I pray that the Codex finds its way safely to my hands before it is too late.

Rude Awakening

Earth Gov Artifact 1

EXCERPT FROM “AN END TO EARTHGOV?”

EarthGov officials yesterday denied rumors that the government was no longer able to contain the widespread violence that has gripped the colonies in recent weeks. The violence began sixteen days ago on Uxor following a year-long campaign by the Church of Unitology.

Five colonies have gone dark since the Unitologist riots began. There have been rumors of bombings in government laboratories and eyewitness accounts of brutal killings shortly after.

On Your Own

Earth Gov Artifact 2

OFFICER'S LOG: CAPT Robert Norton

Clarke hasn't exactly made himself easy to find, and I can't say I blame him. He's been on the run from EarthGov since he's escaped Titan Station with those Marker secrets stuck in his head. If it weren't for Ellie's help, we wouldn't have known where to look.

We set a course for New Horizons Lunar Colony this morning. Now the trick is to find him before Danik does.

Historys Ember

Earth Gov Artifact 3

PERSONAL JOURNAL: Ellie Langford

I wasn't sure how he'd feel – seeing me again. He's been through a lot, and I with him for much of it. Before I left, I could tell things were bothering him. But he did what he always does – suppressed it, kept it locked inside.

I asked him when he was going to face his demons. He said some things should remain buried. Nothing good comes from digging up the past.

It's strangely fitting that we find ourselves together once more, in this 200 year old flotilla, doing just that.

S.C.A.F. Artifact 6

PRIVATE TRANSMISSION

FROM LCDR S. KETTLE, CMS TERRA NOVA

TO: CPT A. BELKNAP, CMS ROANOKE

If this is supposed to be an archeological expedition, why do we have a fully-armed battleship watching our every move? All it does is troll the flotilla occasionally shining its lights along the hulls of the other ships. It's creepy.

And if I'm not mistaken, it's a mine warfare vessel. Judging by the size of the payload, there must be hundreds of thousands of space mines aboard. With that many mines, you could take out a flotilla the size of ours a few times over!

Expect Delays

S.C.A.F. Artifact 3

The planet's storm systems have everyone working sleepless nights. All hands must be available at a moment's notice to accommodate shuttle flights and from dig sites.

It's served to create a great deal of tension among the crew since we brought the first batch of artifacts aboard.

Several of the crew have been sent to the sick bay with complaints of headaches and loss of concentration. To make matters worse and despite orders to the contrary, I suspect the crew have been discussing the details of our mission.

Repair to Ride

S.C.A.F. Artifact 7

PILOT'S LOG: CAPT. Wade Hoshi

Thirty flights in as many days. The CMS FRANKLIN is taking a beating but you can't keep this old bird down. I can't say the same for the CROZIER. I think she spends more time in the garage than in the air.

No one's been getting much shuteye so I've been offering to let my crew zonk out for a few during the flight. Yesterday I was taking the FRANKLIN through the cloud layer, my crew fast asleep. I caught a radio broadcast. It was the faintest static but I swear I heard someone calling my name. Strangest thing was, it sounded just like my wife. But she's dead for over two years.

S.C.A.F. Artifact 13

EXERPT FROM 'SCAF LEGIONARY HANDBOOK'

ADDENUM XII: CONCERNING NECROMORPHS

The attacks we've suffered so far have cost us many lives but left us with valuable lessons. The shambling creatures the science teams are calling ‘Necromorphs' appear to be made of the dead remains of other creatures, including our fallen soldiers.

This is disturbing, disorienting and shocking on first site. Steel yourselves, as it may be a psychological ploy of the creatures to weaken us.

Now we know

Alien Artifact 2

PERSONAL LOG: PVT EDMUND VARLEY

Everywhere we dig, we find them, their frozen carcasses trapped in the ice. I know Serrano says they've been dead for two million years but I can't help but shake the feel that some part of them is still alive.

Their eyes, if they had them, are long gone. But their stares are intense. Accusing. Angry. Distorted. And around them, always the Markers: Ancient monoliths from an ancient race.

Sometimes, when everyone has left the dig site for the day, I hear their icy voices like whispers on the wind.

S.C.A.F. Artifact 14

PERSONAL LOG: PVT EDMUND VARLEY

With great effort, our dig team trekked to the coordinates Dr. Serrano had given us. The blizzard was relentless. To keep from getting lost, we chained the MU90s together into a sort of wagon train. We struggled like this for the better part of the day, wondering if we would ever see our warm bunks again.

Then, without warning, the storm lifted and we saw them. They towered like gods with a twisted Olympus rising behind.

Before I knew what was happening, I had fallen to my knees and was weeping uncontrollably, overwhelmed.

Signal Hunting

Unitology Artifact 2

DAILY REFLECTIONS

Many of the faithful have come to me, their beliefs shaken by the horrors they've seen at the liberated Marker test sites. 'How can we continue to believe in the Markers when they bring so much pain and suffering', they ask.

And who is it that made these aberrations - these copies, I ask.

It is man.

Markers are as much a part of nature as were trees and blue sky and pristine oceans yet we destroyed those too.

Reach for the Sky

S.C.A.F. Artifact 15

The soldiers at the base camp haven taken to calling it the 'snow beast' like it was some sort of modern day Yeti.

The eyewitness descriptions match very closely those of a frozen creature we found at the Facility One dig site and another we are piecing together at Facility Two up on the mountain.

It's a curious crustacean, something I'd expect to find on a deep sea expedition rather than a trek through a frozen waste. How this one survived where the others did not proves it has a great deal of resilience.

Everything has its place

Alien Artifact 4

PERSONAL LOG: DR. ALEXEI OBAUCHEV

I suppose the others thought it crude when I tacked poor PVT Freeman to the wall and gutted him like a fish. But I felt the point had to be made. And what clearer way than to show them the evidence directly?

The abberations observed in the Private's skeletal structure and reorganization of his internal organs show the unmistakable similarities to the specimens we fished out of the ice. The same force that twisted his corpses into a deranged killing machine is intrinsic to this planet's evolution.

Alien Artifact 3

PERSONAL LOG: DR. ALEXEI OBAUCHEV

I am first and foremost a scientist. It is our duty to be bold in our studies. It was, therefore, my decision to attempt a controlled thaw of an intact specimen.

While I'm sure many will miss his antics around camp, I remind my colleagues that it was PVT Freeman's decision to volunteer for the duty of handling the specimen while we stood in the protective safety of the control booth.

I'm sure we were all surprised when the ancient tissue showed twinges of life once freed from its icy encasement.

S.C.A.F. Artifact 16

PERSONAL LOG: DR. ALEXEI OBRUCHEV

The extracted ice cores are spectacular. Contrary to everyone's expectations, the ice is not layered in a predicable pattern befitting of millions of years of gradual deposits. Rather, it indicates a single period of great upheaval and then a sudden, dramatic climate shift.

As impossible as it seems, I believe the planet underwent an ice age in a single day. But how can this be? With each discovery we make, even more questions surface.

Thankfully, Dr. Serrano's signal-tracking experiments have painted a trail that leads under the ice. It is there that I suspect we will soon find all of the answers we seek.

A strange City

Alien Artifact 5

PERSONAL JOURNAL: DR. EARL SERRANO

By setting up camp at the edge of the deep dig site, I am able to oversee the excavation more directly than before. Each day is filled with thrilling new discoveries never before witnessed by another human being.

Just yesterday, we broke through the staggeringly huge internal cavity filled with an eerie green light. There was a sudden rush of vapor as the two atmospheres met for the first time in eons.

The deep dig teams were sent in with camera feeds to be my eyes and ears. I could hardly contain my excitement.

Unitology Artifact 6

DAILY REFLECTIONS: JACOB DANIK

Like any good spiritual journey, this trip has constantly questioned my beliefs and tested my resolve. But by careful observation of the facts, I now believe I know what truly has transpired on this planet and why our race has failed to achieve Convergence.

The natives of Tau Volantis, like ourselves, tampered with the Markers and broke from nature's plan. Judging by the relative completeness of the moon in orbit, they were so close to achieving final, lasting glory.

Alien Artifact 6

We noticed their haunting, graceful forms almost immediately as we ascended into the city. Some twenty-stories tall and others no more than four meters in height.

After a grueling hours-long hike, we made camp at the feet of one such ‘statue'. To keep from freezing, we deployed a portable heating unit and huddled around it until we managed to fall asleep.

I was jolted awake by a shrill flute-like noise. The 'statue' was gone and so were half my crew. As I fumbled for my gear I saw it, gaunt and gray, it's bone crusted head staring in my direction. This couldn't be one of the noble beings that constructed this city, could it? It appeared stunted and corrupt, a frightening and twisted version of this species. With the fate of my crew uncertain, I did the only thing I could do. I ran.

Kill or be killed

Alien Artifact 8

The signs are all around me. I don't know why I didn't see it before. Everywhere we look there are Markers; red ones similar to the copies we ourselves have created back home.

The Marker signal doesn't just reanimate the dead. It manipulates us into spreading the Markers. And now we too have been unwittingly spreading this galactic virus from planet to planet. The propagation of our species has only served to create a source of food and the means of finding it for those these moon sized entities.

Alien Artifact 7

It is unlikely that a race as advanced as this one would have remained bound to just one planet. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest their empire was widespread, spanning many star systems.

They must have been trillions strong before falling to the Markers. And perhaps that is the point. Allow a species to thrive until they are so many in number that they can no longer sustain themselves… then descend upon their worlds to feed.

Endings

Alien Artifact 10

PERSONAL LOG: DR. EARL SERRANO

In the end, there is one way to stop the impending apocalypse at the hands of these brethren moons. The natives of Tau Volantis understood that, for life to continue in this galaxy, their species must die.

It is only through ultimate sacrifice that we too will know freedom from the Marker's signal. When Tim arrives with the Codex, I will take it to the heart of the Machine and trigger the final stage.

If I am successful, the Moon will be pulled down to the planet and crushed to oblivion.

C.M.S. Greely

S.C.A.F. Artifact 8

PERSONAL LOG: Laura Engstrom

When the Sovereign Colonies signed me on to this project, I was lead to believe we would be given free reign of site access and resources. It's anything but. Mahad's men are thick as molasses, stationed at practically every airlock, asking for badges and ID's and research tickets every step of the way. I can't tell if they're obstructionist on purpose or by accident, but either way, I'll have a word with Mahad. Or several.

Despite all this, we haven't been rendered entirely useless. Today we got a look at one of the specimens brought up from the planet. We've confirmed it is indeed organic life trapped in the ice. Early tests suggest is had been there for possibly millions of years.

Tomorrow we will dissect the specimen. And I understand there are many, many more where that came from!

Alien Artifact 9

PERSONAL LOG: Laura Engstorm

The frozen specimens are breathtaking. Their physiology isn't entirely dissimilar to our own in the broadest sense. They are large, almost in majestic in a way. Their crested heads are both horrifying and beautiful. Dr. Serrano suspects there may be millions of them down there, trapped in the ice amongst the Markers.

Who were these noble creators? Why did they build the markers? Are they responsible for placing the Black Marker on Earth? For what reason? I believe we will find all of these answers and more on this frozen planet.

Conning Tower

S.C.A.F. Artifact 5

The planet's storm systems have everyone working sleepless nights. All hands must be available at a moment's notice to accommodate shuttle flights and from dig sites.

It's served to create a great deal of tension among the crew since we brought the first batch of artifacts aboard.

Several of the crew have been sent to the sick bay with complaints of headaches and loss of concentration. To make matters worse and despite orders to the contrary, I suspect the crew have been discussing the details of our mission.

Armory

Unitology Artefakt 4

THOUGHT DIARY: INITIATE CHARLES LAFAYETTE

As I documented earlier in my Thought Diary, the events on New Horizons Lunar Colony left my faith shaken. Fortunately, Rick, my spiritual counsellor, had been monitoring my diary and pulled me aside for a pep talk.

He explained to me that what we're doing is a painful but necessary step towards saving the human race from the path of destruction. The deaths, he said, shouldn't bother me. If we do our job and bring about true Convergence, all those who have died will join us.

Reaper Barracks

S.C.A.F. Artifact 18

When I look out across the yard, I see only weakness. The war with the secessionists has claimed our fiercest warriors and replaced them with children.

Half of these pricks can't hold a rifle and the rest piss their pants the moment they hear one go off. If you want to make it in this world, not only do you have to be willing to kill, you have to like it.

PVT Myers is a tool so it's only fitting that we use him as one. Let's give him one week of solid abuse before we kick him out the door. Maybe then he'll wise up and realize he'll never have what it takes to be one of us.

Disposal Service

S.C.A.F. Artifact 17

FINDING TAU VOLANTIS

Tau Volantis was discovered after intense study of the Red Markers, the man-made copies based on the original alien artifact, the Black Marker. The Red Markers, sequestered safely away on distant star systems such as Aegis VII, Aspera and Proxima Centauri, among others, were themselves a mystery, as they were more grown than built.As the Red Markers were studied, it became clear they were receiving the signal they broadcast, rather than creating it themselves.

The Ptolemy Array was built specifically to triangulate the distant signal using three Red Markers. They located the source, and it proved to be the most distant point ever reached by man, Tau Volantis, here in this previously uncharted arm of the galaxy.

This feat of science and technology will hopefully reward mankind with the ultimate prize -- the limitless energy that seems to emanate from the Markers, the source of which we expect to find here.

Artifact Storage

Alien Artifact 9

PERSONAL JOURNAL: DR. EARL SERRANO

The signal projected by the Markers permeates everything and everyone. We are all affected differently. Some are driven to rage. Others suffer hallucinations. And still others fall into gibbering dementia.

But perhaps the most insidious effect it has is when we don't realize it has taken hold of us. Indeed, we show no signs of madness. We believe we are following our natural compulsions. And in all likelihood, we will not realize this manipulation until our ill-conceived plans will come to fruition and it is too late to reverse our actions.